Evidence based investigation and treatment of disorders of female reproduction

Abstract

The candidate’s work is centred on the evidence based investigation and treatment of reproductive disorders in women and includes subthemes of evidenced based medicine, infertility and the long term management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). The candidate’s published work encompasses a broad spectrum of the hierarchal levels of research evidence including observational studies (case series, retrospective and prospective cohort studies), clinical trials (randomized controlled trials [RCTs]), narrative reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analyses of RCTs and Evidence Based Clinical Guidelines. The candidate is totally committed to the principles and practices of Evidence Based Medicine to improve clinical practice and outcomes. Evidence based medical practice is based on the best research evidence available. The candidate’s published work on female reproductive disorders focusses on the management of Infertility and PCOS. The published work on infertility includes both the investigation and treatment of this important reproductive disorder. These publications on the investigation of infertility involve the surgical techniques of Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) and Outpatient Hysteroscopy which are two important investigations evaluating female infertility whilst the publications on the treatment of infertility comprise a range of infertility treatments including surgical treatment of endometriosis, controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) with various insemination techniques (timed intercourse, intra-cervical insemination [ICI] and intra-uterine insemination [IUI]) for unexplained or ovulatory (which includes unexplained, male, cervical, endometriosis, and tubal infertility) infertility, ovulation induction for anovulatory infertility (PCOS) and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) with or without Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). The published work on PCOS consists of treating both the infertility and long term effects of PCOS. Particular emphasis has been placed on comparing both the efficacy and adverse effects profile of the new treatment agent metformin, in order to help determine the role of metformin (both alone and combined with other treatment modalities) in the management of PCOS in terms of both infertility and long-term treatment. However, the candidate’s work has more recently evolved to also evaluate the role of all infertility treatments in PCOS in an evidenced based manner including lifestyle, pharmacological, surgical and IVF treatments.